Characteristics of a Good Leader

It is a question that has been asked since the beginning of time:

What makes a good leader?

And especially what makes a good leader in a time of rapid transformation, change, challenges, and unknown storms looming up ahead?

In 20 years in the professional world, I have seen ups and down, experienced mergers and even been fired. In each of those situations I have experienced good leaders and it is clear to me what makes one.

A good leader is someone you can trust. If a manager or an executive can not be trusted, then it is never going to work. The team is never going to come in and be ready to get to work. If they can’t be trusted or if they don’t trust the staff, no level of good work or the right strategy will make up for the lack of trust.

A good leader is someone you can believe in. A leader in a business or school doesn’t need to be someone who inspires you like a President Obama or your favorite speaker or writer. But it does have to be someone you want to stand up with. It needs to be someone who — for lack of a better phrase — you are willing to walk into fire with. That’s a motivational leader.

A good leader is someone who listens. This is not me tooting my own horn, but recently I was one a call with my board for the Alzheimer’s Association and our Executive Director chimed in and said I was being quiet. And I was. I was being quiet so I could listen. I tend to not speak until I have something I need to say. It’s my general nature. And a good leader does an exponentially higher level of listening than talking.

And finally, a leader is a partner. They work together. They want to build a true collaborative culture and they stick to it.